Louis Figuier

Louis Guillaume Figuier (1819-1894) was a French chemist and writer on occult subjects. He took his doctorate in medicine and completed postgraduate study in chemistry. He is best remembered for his prolific writings popularizing the sciences. From 1857 to 1894 he edited and published an annual inventory of scientific discoveries--L'Anee scientifique et industrielle.

Work on occult subjects includes Le Lendemain de la Mort, ou La Vie Future Selon la Science (1872) dealing with the transmigration of souls. It is available in English translation from the Internet Archive as The To-Morrow of Death; or, The Future Life According to Science (1872) and, alternately, The Day After Death; or, Our Future Life, According to Science (1874).

His work on alchemy, L'Alchime et Les Alchimistes: Essai Historique et Critique sur la Philosophie Hermetique (1856 and 1860) and the four-volume Histoire du Merveilleus dans les Temps Modernes (1860-74) which includes information on the divining rod, animal magnetism, mediums and spiritualism, are also available from the Internet Archive in the original French language only.

The photograph of Figuier was taken by Felix Nadar. Figuier's obituary was published in the New York Times on November 10, 1894.

I have been collecting his beautifully illustrated natural science books in English translation and will present a separate post on each of the following titles:

• The Human Race.
• The Insect World: Being A Popular Account of the Orders of Insects, Together with A Description of the Habits and Economy of Some of the Most Interesting Species.
  
• Mammalia: Their Various Forms and Habits.
  
• The Ocean World: Being a Description of the Sea and Some of its Inhabitants.
  
• Primitive Man.
  
• Reptiles and Birds: A Popular Account of Their Various Orders.
• The Vegetable World: Being A History of Plants with Their Structure and Peculiar Properties.

These titles are also available from the Internet Archive.